New Delhi, Nov 5 (IANS) Seeking to boost bilateral trade and people-to-people ties with India, Canada's Minister of State for Democratic Reforms Tim Uppal Monday met Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi here.
"We have discussed issues relating to bilateral trade and ways to give it a boost," Ravi told reporters at Akbar Bhavan here after his meeting with Uppal, a Sikh and two-time MP from Edmonton-Sherwood Park in Canada.
A practicing advocate, Uppal is part of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's team that is on an official visit to India.
"There were also issues relating to the Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) card. A lot of PIOs have issues on the card and we discussed ways of sorting them out," Ravi said.
At the half-hour meeting, the two sides also discussed the benefits that accrued from the mini Pravasi Bharatiya Divas event held in Canada in June 2011.
Touching upon the robust bilateral ties that India and Canada enjoy, Uppal said Canadians were keen on investing in India.
Uppal, who was accompanied by a 30-member business delegation, said the discussions on all the issues were "fruitful".
Officials from the Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs told IANS that the Canadian delegation also sought Ravi's help in increasing the frequency of direct flights between Delhi and Toronto.
The Canadian delegates expressed their interest in contributing towards social causes in India and urged the ministry to facilitate them in this regard.
The two sides also discussed the contours of a Social Security Agreement (SSA) to benefit Indians living and working in Canada. The two nations are to sign the SSA soon.
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